Genetics of long-QT syndrome

Congenital long qt syndrome (lqts) is an inherited arrhythmia syndrome characterized by a prolonged qt interval in the 12-lead ecg, torsades de pointes and not negligible prevalence of sudden cardiac death. the genetic testing plays an important role in the diagnosis of lqts. a total of 15 genes have been reported for autosomal-dominant forms of romano–ward-type congenital lqts and 2 genes for autosomal-recessive forms of the jervell and lange–nielsen syndrome. in this review, we summarize the recent advances in genetics of lqts and briefly describe forward perspectives of lqts investigation.